How can i buy a relatives house with minimal fees?

donstermonster

LOTS OF QUESTIONS I AM AFRAID, HOPÉ YOU CAN ASSIST , thanks

My niece is forced to sell her house for personal reasons.

I am considering buying it from her but would like to know how i can do this as inexpensively as possible i.e. without involving her estate agent and their stupidly high fees.

I am very comfortable with financial and legal matters but would still use a solictor for conveyancing as it seems to be relatively inexpensive unless others can recommend an alternative route?

OK that is the easy bit i guess

SOO Once i have bought it (she has moved out into rented accommodation) i would consider renting it back to her (she has 6 months in rented before any of this happens anyway)

What should i consider in this scenario, she will be on benefits by them but will have her rent paid direct to the landlord (i.e. me)

Please do not second guess why i am asking these questions and considering this route but she has left her house already due to personal reasons.

dancingfairy

Hi - this is an area I know very little about but a few thoughts on this:
1) will you be paying market rate? if not this could cause her problems if she wanted to go bankrupt and the official receiver thought it was undersold.
2) you need to be careful regarding contrived tennacies- will she be on housing benefit at all?
3) will you be subsidising rent for her? there are rules and regulations regarding housing benefit payouts to relatives to ensure the system is not being abused just to claim housing benefit - if you see what I mean - hopefully others will be able to fill you in the details.
Sorry I can't help further but good luck
df

donstermonster

dancingfairy wrote: »

Hi - this is an area I know very little about but a few thoughts on this:
1) will you be paying market rate? if not this could cause her problems if she wanted to go bankrupt and the official receiver thought it was undersold.
2) you need to be careful regarding contrived tennacies- will she be on housing benefit at all?
3) will you be subsidising rent for her? there are rules and regulations regarding housing benefit payouts to relatives to ensure the system is not being abused just to claim housing benefit - if you see what I mean - hopefully others will be able to fill you in the details.
Sorry I can't help further but good luck
df

Hiya Thanks for such a prompt reply - more info below

1) Yes i will pay market rate , the house is being split with her husband so he needs his share (divorcing)

2) Yes she will be on housing benefit by then, all money she has has paid for rent to "get out" of horrible home life but ultimately will be on benefit and will need to rent (she does work but has young children so cannot work lots of hours)
3)No plans to subsidise rent for her

Thanks again any more information or thoughts welcomed

Caz3121

As far as I know there is a period of 5 years before you can claim housing benefit for a property that you previously owned. However if the reasons for selling were impending repossession then this is different.
As said, if she is going to be reliant on benefits, you will need to demonstrate that market value was paid as if family discount is given this would be treated as if she had the money and gave it away so if there is more than £16k equity she will not qualify for means tested benefits

CloudCuckooLand

Ok to not use EA.
If it just "hers"? If not, will the other party agree to sell to you? If it is, she's left for some "personal" reason...fair enough, not meaning to pry, but that "reason" is not going to just disappear because you bought it. The "reason" could hang around for years.
Still use solicitor, good.
Personally, as you'd have to charge market rate to avoid "contrived tenancy" issues", I don't see the gain in her renting from you again.
It just creates a future awkward situation, when you decide you need to sell the house, because you cannot afford the mortgage, or some other relationship situation arises which leads to disagreements...
Renting should be a business arrangement, so neither party takes the other for granted, or is upset when things don't pan out as expected.
Dozens of threads on here, weekly, about how family and monetary arrangements don't mix well.

In my opinion.

Jowo_2

Previous owner

You cannot claim HB if you or your partner previously owned the dwelling which you now rent, unless you could not continue to live in the property without the transfer of ownership.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/rr2-a-guide-to-housing-benefit/housing-benefit/

AnnaV

All sounds a bit precarious to me. I'd me really, really careful if I were you.

donstermonster

CloudCuckooLand wrote: »

Ok to not use EA.
If it just "hers"? If not, will the other party agree to sell to you? If it is, she's left for some "personal" reason...fair enough, not meaning to pry, but that "reason" is not going to just disappear because you bought it. The "reason" could hang around for years.
Still use solicitor, good.
Personally, as you'd have to charge market rate to avoid "contrived tenancy" issues", I don't see the gain in her renting from you again.
It just creates a future awkward situation, when you decide you need to sell the house, because you cannot afford the mortgage, or some other relationship situation arises which leads to disagreements...
Renting should be a business arrangement, so neither party takes the other for granted, or is upset when things don't pan out as expected.
Dozens of threads on here, weekly, about how family and monetary arrangements don't mix well.

In my opinion.

Hiya and thanks for your reply.

It is jointly owned and will be split 65 35 (in her favour due to kids),

The other party will agree to sell , I agree about the reason , it will be a divorce but what i am trying to solve is the location she and kids end up living in, where she lives(well the house i mention she has had to leave and is for sale) is in an area where houses very rarely come up for sale as it is a small place with few samll propertys of this size (her kids are why i am hoping to help) location location location and all that (smile)

Thanks again

p00hsticks

donstermonster wrote: »

I am considering buying it from her but would like to know how i can do this as inexpensively as possible i.e. without involving her estate agent and their stupidly high fees.

As a buyer, you won't be paying any estate agents fees - that's for the seller.

If the house is already on the market with an estate agent, then she needs to check what sort of agreement she has signed with them as depending on the contract I think that she may be liable for their fees if the house is sold even if the buyer doesn't deal directly with them

donstermonster

iamana1ias wrote: »

No need to second guess anything. You'd like taxpayers to buy you a house. :mad:

On the contrary , i want my niece and children who have been forced to leave the house they love by an aggressive abusive parent be able to eventually move back to the area they will benefit best from , i dont really care if i buy their old house or another in the same town but they only come up for sale in extreme circumstances

As i said dont judge as you dont recognise genuine kindess, your angry face and short angry reply shows little understanding in something you know very little about

Not sure why you trolled a nasty reply but it really doesnt help at all so please stay away from my posts

Jowo_2

Firstly, there is a strong likelihood that she will not receiving HB for a place she previously owned. Secondly, any equity she receives up to 6k will impact her means tested benefits and any over 16k will wipe out her eligibility.

Why doesn't she see a solicitor about her rights to remain in the family home after the relationship breakdown? She may find that she has a good case to remain in it until the youngest child leaves education and her partner is obliged to pay child support that will help pay the mortgage? Then they can sell it and divvy up the pre-agreed percentage of equity. This resolves the location issue that you cite.

If there are any domestic abuse issues, contact Womens Aid for advice.